Saturday, June 18, 2005

the rubaiyat

Here's the cover of "the rubaiyat" book I may be altering. I think it's probably a good size - the pages are 6.5 x 9.25 inches - but I'm a little intimidated by it so I may have to work up to it. Am also still intimidated by the thought of ripping up a perfectly good book. My practice altered-book is a paperback, which made it a little easier. I'm still enjoying the musty smell which evokes visions of tall dimly-lit aisles containing a multitude of dusty tomes long-forgotten and considerably marked down in price. This copy of "The Rubaiyat" is not rare and cost me less than what I might pay for a used paperback, yet the connotation of "book" renders it somehow sacred.

I will start by ripping out the color illustrations. I think there are twelve. After that, more destruction will be easier, I think.

I was so dull yesterday, still trying to adjust to my new work schedule and the pressure that's going along with it, that I felt I would never be creative again. I took some time to prep a few pages in my mini-journal with a wash of acrylic paint and that helped a little in that I was doing something, but it didn't feel creative. I finally just started clipping words out of the newspaper and gradually the above page came together with some useful quotes about creativity that seemed to be the spark I needed. I feel better now.